Wedge LIVE!
182 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 34 ratingsA show about Minneapolis politics from the maker of Wedge LIVE, the award winning local news website.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Aisha Chughtai, candidate for Minneapolis City Council in Ward 10
September 16, 2021 11:41 - 1 hour - 70.1 MBJohn is joined by co-host Jason Garcia for a conversation with Aisha Chughtai, who's running for Minneapolis City Council. We start with an inappropriate degree of fawning from an uninvited special guest. Aisha wants to know how long this show will go (we have no good answers). Aisha talks about balancing work and running for office as she enters the heart of the campaign. And what it's like to be a running as a woman of color during an intense, sometimes angry, time in our city. What's her ...
Katie Jones, candidate for Minneapolis City Council in Ward 10
September 14, 2021 07:52 - 1 hour - 73.9 MBJohn has a conversation with Minneapolis City Council candidate Katie Jones. We talk about the incredibly high stakes for this election while Katie sits on the floor of her attic. In a time like this, why disrupt your life to become a candidate? John chides Katie the engineer for not laughing at his jokes and expresses frustration with election year distraction politics. What is Katie's response to the empty catchphrase "support our chief"? Katie says the framing is all wrong. It's about sen...
Steve Brandt, candidate for Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation
September 02, 2021 09:06 - 42 minutes - 39.7 MBOn the thrilling conclusion of BET Candidates Week: Steve Brandt. John begins by asking Steve to give his assessment of where Minneapolis stands after the events of the past year or so. How would Steve explain the BET to a normal human being? What would Steve do if the Council needed his help raising the tax levy to fund alternative public safety priorities beyond what's contained in the mayor's budget? How is Steve different from the tax hawks who currently occupy the two directly elected s...
Pine Salica, candidate for Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation
August 31, 2021 12:34 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBPine Salica is our first guest for BET Candidates Week! We start off with the basics. What is the BET? Why do you want this job? Are you a fiscal conservative or are you willing to provide budget flexibility to fund essential city priorities? We talk about the public safety charter amendment and the recent ballot language controversy. Pine tells us about their desire to have Minneapolis raise money for public housing maintenance using a public housing levy. A Lisa Goodman soundbite prompts a...
Jeremiah Ellison, Minneapolis City Council Member in Ward 5
August 24, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 69.3 MBJohn is joined by Jeremiah Ellison who represents Ward 5 in North Minneapolis. Jeremiah says he's a progressive outlier in a historically low-turnout ward that tends to elects more conservative council members ("we made people feel like it was worth voting" in 2017). We talk about a housing crisis Jeremiah faced early in his first term; the rent control charter amendment (and mayoral veto); public safety ("Long before the past two years Ward 5, and Ward 4, we've had to carry the burden of gu...
Erica Mauter on 2021 and the experience of 2017
August 17, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 65.2 MBJohn is joined by Erica Mauter for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of the 2021 election. Erica reacts to John's narration of what he calls "the Kneecapping of Erica Mauter" by the Star Tribune Editorial Board. Erica talks about her experience campaigning for City Council as a Queer Black woman in an especially white part of Minneapolis (Ward 11), and how that influenced her decision to find a new neighborhood. We ponder the current state of the race in Ward 11 and elsewhere. How ...
David Brauer talks us through the 2021 election in Minneapolis
August 11, 2021 11:11 - 1 hour - 67.5 MBIt's a wide ranging election year conversation with longtime local journalist ("40 years of sedimentary layers in Minneapolis"), and Twitter Dad to all, David Brauer. David talks John through the various scenarios, ranking them on a scale of how likely they are to make you poop your pants. After covering the Board of Estimate and Taxation, and the various City Council races, we discuss two charter amendments — "strong mayor" and public safety — that could shift the balance of power and resha...
The Mickey Moore Episode
August 03, 2021 11:32 - 1 hour - 62.8 MBJohn is joined by Jason Garcia and investigator Taylor Dahlin. Taylor has untangled the web of mystery and deceit that surround the Mickey Moore campaign for Minneapolis City Council in Ward 9. Questions beget more questions in the quest to understand the real Mickey Moore. Does Mickey Moore really live in Ward 9 where he is currently running for City Council? Did he ever live in the 5th District when he ran against Ilhan Omar last year? Or has he always lived with his family in Oak Grove, a...
Jason Chavez, candidate for Minneapolis City Council in Ward 9
July 15, 2021 12:46 - 1 hour - 68.6 MBJohn and co-host Elissa Schufman start off the show with an extended period of delightful co-host banter, demonstrating mutual respect and admiration — making a convincing case to listeners that they enjoy being in each other's presence. John asks, does Elissa consider herself to be the Wedge LIVE equivalent to the late Andy Rooney, of 60 Minutes fame? Does she who know that is? What's the deal with people who drive on the Midtown Greenway? Elissa provides an Aldi update: she still hasn't be...
Jeremy Schroeder, Minneapolis City Council Member in Ward 11
July 01, 2021 13:01 - 1 hour - 64 MBJohn and co-host PeggySue have a conversation with Jeremy Schroeder, who represents Ward 11 on the Minneapolis City Council. First we ask about chickens. Then we talk about his first term, the leadership role he's taken on housing and public safety, and how city hall has been more political and less collaborative than he expected. PeggySue's cat derails the episode by obliterating John's script. Then we talk some more about public safety and what's wrong with the mayor. John asks why Jeremy'...
Nick Kor, candidate for Minneapolis City Council in Ward 7
June 29, 2021 12:13 - 1 hour - 72.4 MBJohn is joined by co-host Pine, a Senior Political Analyst who is currently managing the only citywide DFL endorsed campaign in Minneapolis. After some co-host banter, Nick Kor arrives for a conversation about his run for the Ward 7 seat on the Minneapolis City Council. We talk about the political geography of Ward 7 (East of Hennepin Ave vs. West of Hennepin Ave). How do you convince the apartment dwellers of Ward 7 the stakes are high enough that they should come out and vote in a city ele...
The Wedge LIVE Election Year Halftime Show Conventional Wisdom Spectacular!!!
June 22, 2021 14:08 - 1 hour - 84.1 MBJohn is joined by Jason Garcia and Taylor Dahlin to dole out conventional wisdom on everything that's happened through the first half of the 2021 election year in Minneapolis. Did Mayor Jacob Frey really win by losing, as traditional media personalities would have you believe? Will the city council swing conservative or progressive? We can help you interpret the meaning behind DFL endorsements and non-endorsements across the city. Later in the show we're joined by Jacob Garcia and Dr. Melody...
Fixing Lyndale (And All the Rest of Our Terrible, Unlivable, Deadly Streets)
June 16, 2021 12:44 - 55 minutes - 51.4 MBJohn is joined by guests Ash Narayanan and Elissa Schufman to talk about what's wrong with Minneapolis streets and how to fix them. Ash is educated as a civil and traffic engineer, but decided to use those powers for good, as the executive director of Our Streets Minneapolis. Our Streets is an organization that "works for a city where biking, walking, and rolling are easy and comfortable for everyone." Elissa (who is also a board member at Our Streets) has a day job in transportation advocac...
PARK BOARD EPISODE! with Becky Alper and Tom Olsen
June 08, 2021 10:32 - 1 hour - 65.2 MBJohn is secretly very tired of talking to candidates for Minneapolis Park Board, so he combined two of them into one episode, just to get this over with quicker. Becky Alper (beckyforparks.org) is running in district 3 and Tom Olsen (olsenforparks.org) running citywide at-large. We talk about parkways and how to use them. John maintains that not even the biggest automobile enthusiast goes to a park to experience the sights and sounds of car traffic. Tom talks about his ideas for reallocating...
Reimagining Public Safety with Asma Mohammed Nizami
June 03, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 62.9 MBJohn is joined by co-host Jason Garcia for a conversation about public safety and election year politics with guest Asma Mohammed Nizami. Topics for co-host banter include the conservative effort to quickly build out an array of new organization to match progressive political infrastructure in Minneapolis; an update to the Wedge LIVE endorsements venn diagram and voter guide; the Yellow Pages; John recalls the time he was named one of the 100 People to Know in 2020 by the prestigious Twin Ci...
Eric Moran, candidate for Minneapolis Park Board in District 2
June 01, 2021 12:00 - 40 minutes - 37.9 MBJohn talks to Eric Moran, who's running to represent North Minneapolis (and a tiny part of the North Loop neighborhood) on the Minneapolis Park Board. Eric says he's running a campaign focused on both physical and digital access to the parks system and its government. With recent news of Minneapolis dropping in the ranking of best urban parks systems (based on the percentage of people who live within a 10 minute walk to a park), John asks what can be done to increase the number of people who...
Operation Safety What?
May 28, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 82.2 MBA year after George Floyd's murder by four Minneapolis police officers, rising rates of violent crime (locally and across the country) have created a backlash to the backlash. Demands for a new system of public safety have been met with calls for more police from a reinvigorated law-and-order political coalition. John and co-host Jason Garcia speak with Logan Carroll about his story in the Minnesota Reformer, uncovering coordination between Mayor Frey, Chief Arradondo, and a newly formed pro...
Kate Knuth, candidate for Mayor of Minneapolis
May 06, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 75.6 MBJohn is joined by guest co-host PeggySue Imihy. The guest is Kate Knuth, candidate for mayor of Minneapolis. We start the show by playing PeggySue's theme song. Then we poke fun at a rival podcast host. John expresses disappointment in PeggySue's late decision to become a city delegate and reveals he takes pleasure in the pain of Ward 10 candidate David Wheeler. Kate and PeggySue bond over their shared heritage in the suburbs of NE Minneapolis. John asks Kate if she thought she'd ever run fo...
Sheila Nezhad, candidate for Mayor of Minneapolis
May 04, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 72.3 MBJohn is joined by guest co-host Jason Garcia, and they begin by chatting about the state of the race for mayor. Then, a conversation with Sheila Nezhad, candidate for mayor of Minneapolis. Sheila's a policy organizer with Reclaim the Block, who's spent the past few years pushing Minneapolis elected officials to divert funding away from police into alternative approaches to public safety. What does Sheila think of Mayor Frey's fear-based framing of the 2020 election? What would a potential de...
DFL Caucus Data Dump with Conrad Zbikowski
May 02, 2021 11:00 - 53 minutes - 49.2 MBMinneapolis DFL caucus registration closed on April 30, so we're checking in with data wizard (and cat tour cinematographer) Conrad Zbikowski for an early look at the results. Over 10,000 people registered -- 3,000 of them in the final two days. 4,500 yet-to-be-confirmed caucus registrants have until midnight on May 7 to input the security code mailed to their home address. We don't know who has the most supporters or who the delegates are. The actual endorsement won't be decided until June....
Where Will They Park?
April 27, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBParking has an impact on everything from the environment to housing affordability to public health to foreign policy. John talks with two people excited that the city of Minneapolis is about to eliminate car parking minimums once and for all. Linnea Goderstad's concerns about climate change led her to join up with Neighbors for More Neighbors, and work to move us away from the car-centric way cities are built and designed. Chris Meyer is a Minneapolis Parks Commissioner and member of the Pla...
Risa Hustad, candidate for Minneapolis Park Board in District 6
April 23, 2021 12:00 - 53 minutes - 50 MBJohn interviews Risa Hustad, who once led him into danger on Lyndale Avenue. Risa is running for Minneapolis Park Board in District 6 (southwest Minneapolis). Because the Minneapolis Park Board is the meanest level of municipal government, John challenges Risa to "prove to us you're not a malignant personality." Topics include Burger King, Lake Chipotle, Embers family restaurant, keeping pollution out of our lakes, park accessibility, encampments, and park police. What does it mean for somet...
Steve Fletcher, Minneapolis City Council Member in Ward 3
April 20, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 79.7 MBOur guest is Steve Fletcher, who represents Ward 3 on the Minneapolis City Council. In the wake of the police killing of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, we talk about how to break the cycle, the need for a new system of public safety, and Steve's work fleshing out what that looks like in Minneapolis. John bemoans a year of crime and safety politics that haven't made sense, and worries that we're going to get really good at declaring states of emergency and deploying soldiers to street corn...
Mike Norton, candidate for Minneapolis City Council in Ward 13
April 15, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 68.6 MBJohn is joined by co-host Pine, who is unreasonably excited about the opportunity to interview Ward 13 candidate Mike Norton. Pine's connection to Ward 13 consists entirely of finding the name Palmisano on a mailbox during a visit to Italy. Norton is an award-winning business leader who was once falsely accused of being a media mogul by a crime-themed Facebook page. He tells us he he felt compelled to run because nobody else was willing, and Ward 13 deserves a choice in 2021. But his policy ...
BIG HUGE MINNEAPOLIS ENDORSEMENTS
April 12, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 66.3 MB2021 election season is underway in Minneapolis! In a conversation continued from our previous episode, Taylor, Jason, and John give their endorsements for Mayor and City Council (note: only John's endorsements are approved by the Wedge LIVE editorial board). Check out John's written endorsements at wedgelive.com/caucus. To have a say in the virtual Minneapolis DFL endorsement process, register to caucus and become a delegate at caucus.dfl.org -- now through the end of April. This year's pro...
Taylor Dumps Norm Coleman
April 09, 2021 11:00 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MBWe're joined by Taylor, Simon the cat, and arena announcer (former Meatjacker) Jason Garcia. As we prepare for our upcoming Big Huge Endorsements episode (next episode), we talk about Taylor's teenage crush, former Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, and her bizarre encounter with him at the State Fair. Taylor reports on a string of Minneapolis meat thefts over the years. I challenge Taylor and Jason to defend the mean tweets they direct at Mayor Frey. All three of us talk about the experiences ...
Elliott Payne, candidate for Minneapolis City Council in Ward 1
April 05, 2021 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.8 MBA conversation with Elliott Payne, who's running for Minneapolis City Council in Ward 1. We ask Elliott about his time with the Minneapolis office of Performance and Innovation, public safety, transportation, why change needs a champion at city hall, and what he thinks about a proposal to restructure Minneapolis government to strengthen the mayor's office at the expense of the city council. John asks Elliott why he's potentially disrupting his life to run for office during hard times. Elliot...
PeggySue Reads the Tweets
April 03, 2021 23:01 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBCo-host PeggySue Imihy joins me, as we prepare to interview Minneapolis City Council candidate Elliott Payne. PeggySue is originally from Columbia Heights but didn't let that stop her from usurping the throne of Miss Northeast Minneapolis. She's put that life behind her and is now interviewing powerbrokers and narrating tweets on a podcast (in addition to a blossoming urban planning career). The best co-hosts make sure their partner is prepared, so I tease PeggySue about the extensive Google...
It's Caucus Season! with Devin Hogan, the Minneapolis DFL Chair
March 30, 2021 09:10 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBMinneapolis DFL Chair Devin Hogan is here to talk about the 2021 virtual caucus and convention process. I ask Devin what it feels like to get yelled at for fun, and how it felt to have Mayor Frey and a number of other City Council candidates try to cancel the work they'd put into having an endorsement process this year. This year, the process is virtual which may increase participation. In a normal year, as a delegate, it could land you in a school auditorium for 10 hours. Why do we do thi...
BET WTF? with Christa Moseng
March 25, 2021 07:40 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBChrista Moseng is a career public servant and first time candidate running for the Minneapolis Board of Estimate & Taxation. The BET is a line on your ballot that may have confused you in prior years. I ask Christa to explain what the BET does and why she's qualified for this obscure role. We talk about the two elected members of the BET, their conservative approach, and what role ideology should play on a body with such limited scope. I ask Christa what it means that she has a .bet domain n...
Wedgie and the Meatjacker (and the Failed Microphone)
March 22, 2021 05:26 - 1 hour - 70.7 MBMy microphone failed, but that didn't stop me from talking to Jason Garcia for 75 minutes. If you don't enjoy this episode's low quality, we know who to blame. It's Jason's fault for single-handedly wrangling 40+ subscribers during the week of the Wedge LIVE Pledge Drive. It has forced me into the podcasting business. Jason's from a small town, the kind of place that teaches you the value of bullying the mayor. Jason talks about bringing that attitude to Minneapolis, mopping the floor with...
Coming Soon: The Wedge LIVE Podcast!
March 05, 2021 05:47 - 36 seconds - 869 KBTired of having local news delivered through your eyeballs? Open your ear holes for the Wedge LIVE podcast. Join host John Edwards, a less compelling version of Chuck Todd, for hard hitting interviews with newsmakers and power brokers. This is just like the tweets, only worse, and harder to digest. Coming soon!